Common variants on 1p36 and 1q42 are associated with cutaneous basal cell carcinoma but not with melanoma or pigmentation traits

To search for new sequence variants that confer risk of cutaneous basal cell carcinoma (BCC), we conducted a genome-wide SNP association study of 930 Icelanders with BCC and 33,117 controls. After analyzing 304,083 SNPs, we observed signals from loci at 1p36 and 1q42, and replicated these associations in additional sample sets from Iceland and Eastern Europe. Overall, the most significant signals were from rs7538876 on 1p36 (OR = 1.28, P = 4.4 x 10(-12)) and rs801114 on 1q42 (OR = 1.28, P = 5.9 x 10(-12)). The 1p36 locus contains the candidate genes PADI4, PADI6, RCC2 and ARHGEF10L, and the gene nearest to the 1q42 locus is the ras-homolog RHOU. Neither locus was associated with fair pigmentation traits that are known risk factors for BCC, and no risk was observed for melanoma. Approximately 1.6% of individuals of European ancestry are homozygous for both variants, and their estimated risk of BCC is 2.68 times that of noncarriers.     

Immunochemical identification of vitellogenin in the serum of the newtTriturus cristatus

Summary The hematic yolk precursor — vitellogenin — has been identified immunochemically in the serum of estrogenized females of the newtTriturus cristatus by employing an antiserum prepared against yolk proteins.     

The karyotypes of the Corsican and Sardinian mountain salamanders,Euproctus montanus andE. platycephalus (Urodela: Salamandridae)

Summary The chromosomes ofEuproctus montanus andE. platycephalus were studied by means of the C-banding method and the AS-SAT technique which are useful for identifying the single pairs of the complement and for recognizing nucleolar organizer regions. According to the morpho-structural characteristics shown by the specific karyotypes, it has been possible to draw some cytotaxonomic deductions concerning the karyological evolution within the insular group.This work was supported by grant CT 76.01271.04/115.3822 from C.N.R., Rome.     

Comparative stability analyses of traditional and selective room-and-pillar mining techniques for sub-horizontal tungsten veins

The stability and productivity concerning a modification on the traditional room and pillar for a new selective technique at the Portuguese Panasqueira Mine have been described. The traditional room-and-pillar stoping uses 5.0-m wide rooms with 3.0 m×3.0 m pillars, while the selective room-and-pillar mining technique consists in stoping with rooms of 4.0 m wide and pillars of 4 m×4 m with a subsequent selective cutting of the quartz veins at the mid pillar of approximately 0.5 m high, to obtain a pillar section with an area of 3.0 m×3.0 m. The stability and productivity analyses indicate that the selective technique obtains smaller average pillar safety factor, more rock mass displacement, more extraction and selectivity ratios, and ore grade improvement, compared with the traditional technique. These results show that the selective technique is also more convenient. This proposed selective room-and-pillar mining technique is applicable to any sub-horizontal narrow quartz veins with wolfram, gold, etc. such as the famous La Rinconada gold mine in the Peruvian Andes.     

Lampbrush chromosomes from semi-albino crested newts,Triturus Cristatus Carnifex (Laurenti)

Riassunto Sono stati studiati i «lampbrush chromosomes» di mutanti semi-albini diTriturus cristatus carnifex. Il rilevamento degli organizzatori nucleolari ha permesso il completamento delle mappe cromosomiche della specie.

---

---

This work was financially supported by C.N.R., Rome.     

Morphology of the mitotic chromosomes of embryos and of adults of Italian alpine newtTriturus alpestris apuanus (Bonaparte)

Riassunto E' stata descritta la diversa morfologia dei cromosomi mitotici diTriturus alpestris apuanus, studiati in blastomeri e in cellule somatiche di individui adulti.

---

---

With financial support by C.N.R., Rome.     

Identification and expansion of human colon-cancer-initiating cells

Colon carcinoma is the second most common cause of death from cancer. The isolation and characterization of tumorigenic colon cancer cells may help to devise novel diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Although there is increasing evidence that a rare population of undifferentiated cells is responsible for tumour formation and maintenance, this has not been explored for colorectal cancer. Here, we show that tumorigenic cells in colon cancer are included in the high-density CD133+ population, which accounts for about 2.5% of the tumour cells. Subcutaneous injection of colon cancer CD133+ cells readily reproduced the original tumour in immunodeficient mice, whereas CD133- cells did not form tumours. Such tumours were serially transplanted for several generations, in each of which we observed progressively faster tumour growth without significant phenotypic alterations. Unlike CD133- cells, CD133+ colon cancer cells grew exponentially for more than one year in vitro as undifferentiated tumour spheres in serum-free medium, maintaining the ability to engraft and reproduce the same morphological and antigenic pattern of the original tumour. We conclude that colorectal cancer is created and propagated by a small number of undifferentiated tumorigenic CD133+ cells, which should therefore be the target of future therapies.     

Immunochemical identification of vitellogenin in the serum of the newt Triturus cristatus.

The hematic yold precursor--vitellogenin--has been identified immunochemically in the serum of estrogenized females of the nest Triturus cristatus by employing an antiserum prepared against yold proteins.